Tag Archive | Gabby

I walked past the room (Isabel’s old room) where the new girl and her sister were. I was wearing a new dress, which obviously was too big for me, and I was trying to make it work.

Suddenly the taller one spilled the cards. They got everywhere. I could have helped pick them up, but I was still too mad.

But when I spilled rubber bands everywhere.

The new girl helped me scoop them up into the container. Even though I wouldn’t help her.

NEW GIRL’S POV

I went to get something out of the room I was going to share with my little sister. Suddenly I saw Lea in the room. The lights were turned out, and she was crying. I wanted to help her, but I knew she would only snap at me if I asked what was wrong.

“Hey Lea!” I called. “Can I do your hair?”

“Are you saying my hair looks bad?” She snapped. So much for not having her snap at me.

“No, not at all. It actually looks quite nice, but I like to do hair, and I thought you might like your hair done.”

“Well, okay.” Lea agreed.

I flipped the lights on and started on her hair.

LEA’S POV.

The new girl wanted to do my hair, and I agreed. She said it looked good, but I knew she was just being nice. I didn’t know why she was being so nice to me after she’d been so mean, but I wasn’t going to complain.

Suddenly the younger one skipped into the room.

“Mail for you Lea!”

“Thank you!”

It turned out to be from Isabel. She said: ‘I miss you Lea, but I’m glad to be home. I heard about the new girls, but I wanted you to know, I didn’t leave to make room for them. I would have gone anyway. And they would have come even if I hadn’t left. I think you should give them a chance. They probably could use a friend like you. I know I did.’

I know I said I was going to show you what I got today, but I want to do a nice photo story, so instead I am going to rant talk about the new girl of the year, Gabriela McBride.

First of all, Gabriela is not a real girl of the year. The website, the catalog, and even her box say ‘Available through 2017 and beyond’. This means that she is a modern character, but not a real girl of the year. So why are they advertising her as a girl of the year if she’s not? Is she going to be the last doll released on January 1? Are they going to turn her into a modern character at the end of the year and release a new girl?

She’s also not unique. I’ve seen people say that she looks like 56, and American Girl said so by offering a free meet outfit to anyone who has 56. I think they could have made a lot more money by making Gabriela a little different. She could have had longer hair, a different part, and a different color of eyes, maybe amber, instead of just being a Truly Me doll with a story.

If she is the last girl of the year that might explain why she is black, but really. Come on American Girl! You should offer black dolls even if they aren’t going to be the last girl of the year. And releasing her right after Melody is kind of strange.

Gabriela’s collection is quite small. I’m glad her ‘big’ item isn’t expensive, but it’s the only furniture item she has. Lea had a kayak, fruit stand, and rain forest hut. The dance ‘studio’ isn’t expensive, but really, it’s not unique. If you have Isabelle’s dance bar, which is the same as Gabriela’s you could easily make a background to put in your scene. It’s nothing like Lea’s rain forest house which can be recreated, but nowhere as easily as Gabriela’s studio. I wish they had done something amazing this year.

Her outfits are kind of strange. Her meet outfit is okay, but it could have been done better, with stitching on the jeans, and maybe another accessory. She has no skirts or dresses in her collection, which is really weird. I can’t recall any doll not having any skirts or dresses. And her practice outfit is really strange. It would be good for mix and match, but I have never seen anyone wear anything like that, and if I owned that outfit my dolls would never wear the entire outfit at the same time.

The tap shoes are really cool, but way overpriced, and the taps are plastic! Real tap shoes are only about twice as expensive, and they have real taps. In my drama group we do some tapping, and while at least twenty people have tap shoes, none of the shoes look like that. I just don’t think it’s worth it.

In fact almost nothing from her collection I really like. Maybe there will be good stuff for the summer release, but the way American Girl seems to be going I would not be surprised if there wasn’t.

On Saturday we were near an American Girl Store, so we went to it. I didn’t take many pictures, and few of them were good, but here they are.

Here’s just kind of an overview of the girl of the year section. Everything is packaged in the new way. I don’t like this. Because of the new style you can’t open the boxes to look at what’s inside.

Here is the ‘big’ piece from her collection. I’m kind of disappointed with this. It’s a lot cheaper than any of the other ‘big’ items American Girl is selling right now, but it doesn’t really come with a lot. What surprised me was that Isabelle’s dance bar was ten dollars more expensive, and Gabriela’s comes with a background. The mirror isn’t real, but it’s shiny enough to look like a mirror while still being lightweight.

The tap shoes are not sold with an outfit, which is nice for people who want the outfit, but they are expensive and the taps are plastic. How are you supposed to tap dance if you don’t have real taps? The style is the same as Marisol and Molly’s, but they are sparkly silver instead of black. I’m glad they didn’t make them the same, but I wish they had been a different style entirely. In my drama group we do some tapping, and while at least twenty people have tap shoes, none of the shoes look like that. And the price is ridiculous! The tap shoes I use we found at a thrift store, but still they were four times cheaper! Plus they are real, not fake doll shoes! I will definitely be making tap shoes, and NOT buying American Girl’s overpriced doll shoes with plastic on the soles.

This is the picture section. I don’t really know what it is supposed to be, except for maybe a podium? Lea’s hut, Grace’s table, and even Isabelle’s bar were all a lot more thought out, and all of them were really cool. It would have been nice if they had done a in the studio one, or at least something more thought out.